Claims costly for Ottawa

Hotel damage, car accidents among payouts

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada coughed up a $ 4,000 settlement to a hotel after one of its census enumerators trashed the room he was staying in.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans shelled out $ 34,500 after losing at sea some scientific equipment it had leased.

These claims paid out by Ottawa, outlined in the government’s 2012 public accounts tabled Tuesday, may be embarrassing, but they pale in comparison to the number of costly car accidents involving bureaucrats while at work.

For those, the costs run into the millions.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans alone spent over $ 200,000 last year in claims for multiple accidents involving government vehicles. Mishaps on the water were far less frequent — and less costly, with a $ 1,328 payout for one single accident involving a crown vessel. DFO also paid a $ 2,980 settlement for lost lobster gear after it became entangled in scientific monitoring equipment. The department also paid $ 15,000 in compensation caused by an undisclosed “incident.”

Employees at Parks Canada got into their fair share of accidents that came with a much bigger price tag. In addition to $ 21,825 paid to various car rental operators and insurance companies, Parks Canada paid out a settlement of over $ 1.1- million related to a singlecar accident.

The department also paid Bell $ 4,135 for damage to a telephone installation. In a separate incident involving a boat, Parks Canada paid out nearly $ 17,000.

At the Department of National Defence, settlement of claims as a result of accidents involving departmental vehicles totalled nearly $ 1.9 million. The payouts ranged from $ 1,018 to a collision repair company to $ 550,000 in compensation to a person.